Mayor Barrett urges flood victims to apply for FEMA aid

Mayor Tom Barrett is encouraging residents who experienced damage during the July flooding to register with FEMA. Financial assistance is still available for Milwaukee residents, but the deadline to apply for federal aid is November 17th.

“FEMA has already assisted more than 30,000 Milwaukee County residents who registered for aid,” Mayor Barrett said. “Help is still available and it is vital for people who have not yet registered with FEMA to do so as soon as possible.”

To date, Milwaukee County residents and small businesses have received more than $45 million in federal aid since it was granted on September 18. Emantha Peavey, a Milwaukee homeowner who applied soon after the individual assistance was granted said, “I appreciate all of Mayor Barrett’s help and the repairs are going well,” Peavey said. “There are about seven of us here [in the neighborhood] who have received FEMA aid and we are all very happy with the progress.”

Residents can apply by calling the FEMA help center at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or by going online at www.disasterassistance.gov.

Help center calls will be answered by a live representative and should take no longer than 15 minutes. The hotline is open from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., seven days per week.

In addition to encouraging residents to apply for FEMA, Mayor Barrett also expressed his appreciation to the volunteers and the many organizations that partnered with the City to assist residents in the massive clean-up effort launched immediately following the July flooding.

“I’m grateful to the countless volunteers and community organizations that provided the help these residents needed,” Mayor Barrett stated. “On behalf of the many residents that were served, I offer my thanks to the incredible and inspirational Milwaukeeans. Your tireless efforts and community-minded spirit are greatly appreciated.”